ABSTRACT
by 1910 the APCM was clearly gaining ground in the sense that the management had proved itself efficient and the position of the company as a large organization among smaller organizations had been shown, after the initial difficulties, to be fairly satisfactory. In addition, the gains from the maintenance and improvement both of productive efficiency and of the quality of cement were becoming clear. These basic features were not, however, reflected in the values of the shares. The lowest level of the ordinary shares in 1909 was 12s. 6d. for the £10 ordinary shares. There was some recovery early in 1910 when there was once again hope of agreement between the manufacturers; in January 1910 the price reached £2 6s. 3d. This improvement soon disappeared, however, and the price fell to around £1 and shares were unsaleable at that figure. In the autumn of 1910 the price of the shares began to rise. In an article in the Economist in November 1910, the rise is discussed, but the cause obviously not known. There were many transactions and the price rose; as the price rose, those who had hung on to their shares because they were worth so little, began to sell out, all that were offered were taken up and great numbers were bought at prices up to £4. The purchases were made in the name of bankers and for some time O’Hagan did not know who was purchasing. When more than three-quarters of the ordinary shares had been bought, it was revealed that the buyer was a financial syndicate, headed by Lord St Davids. O’Hagan declared that he was not prepared to co-operate if the syndicate merely wished ‘to make use of the company to enable them to resell at a large profit’, 88 but that he certainly would if they wished to assist to make the company a success. O’Hagan then reports the company solicitor, Sir Frank Crisp, who had seen Lord St Davids, as saying: ‘They have come into the speculation because they have heard of your devotion to the company, of all you have done for it, of your efforts to amalgamate the trade, and your belief that if you have sufficient capital at your disposal you can bring about a complete combination of the cement makers, which should make their shares worth ten pounds or more.’ 89
